1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to user interactive computer supported display technology and particularly to such user interactive systems and methods which are user friendly, i.e. provide even noncomputer literate users with an interface environment which is easy to use and intuitive.
2. Prior Art
The 1990""s decade has been marked by a societal technological revolution driven by the convergence of the data processing industry with the consumer electronics industry. This advance has been even further accelerated by the extensive consumer and business involvement in the internet over the past two years. As a result of these changes, it seems as if virtually all aspects of human endeavor in the industrialized world requires human-computer interfaces. As a result of these profound changes, there is a need to make computer directed activities accessible to a substantial portion of the world""s population which, up to a year or two ago, was computer-illiterate, or at best computer indifferent. In order for the vast computer supported market places to continue and be commercially productive, it will be necessary for a large segment of computer indifferent consumers to be involved in computer interfaces. Thus, the challenge of our technology is to create interfaces to computers which are as close to the real world as possible.
Industry has been working towards this challenge and there is presently a relatively high degree of realism possible in interfaces. This presents a need and an opportunity for even more realistic interaction techniques to better match the visual metaphors used and to achieve a higher level of ease of use for computer systems. We are striving towards the representation of object as photo realistic, three-dimensional (3D) models rather than as the icons and two-dimensional desktops of conventional computer technology.
Some examples of current technology for the creation of virtual three-dimensional workspace display interfaces are copending application Ser. No. 08/753,081, entitled xe2x80x9cCREATING REAL WORLD OBJECTSxe2x80x9d and Ser. No. 08/753,076, entitled xe2x80x9cSYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MAINTAINING SIZE AND POSITION RELATIONSHIPS FOR NONRECTANGULAR REAL WORLD OBJECTSxe2x80x9d, assigned to the Assignee of the present application.
A 3D virtual workspace display environment is also described in an article entitled, xe2x80x9cRAPID CONTROLLED MOVEMENT THROUGH A VIRTUAL 3D WORKSPACExe2x80x9d, Jock Mackinlay et al., Computer Graphics Publication, Vol. 24, No. 4, August 1990, pp. 171-175, as well as in its related U.S. Pat. 5,276,785.
A more recent copending application assigned to the Assignee of the present invention is entitled, xe2x80x9cVIEWER INTERACTIVE OBJECT IN VIRTUAL THREE-DIMENSIONAL WORKSPACExe2x80x9d, D. Bardon et al. which covers face views of virtual three-dimensional objects which may be triggered to appear on a display by interactive viewer input.
It is clear that current technology in virtual three-dimensional workspaces has provided environments which are user friendly, i.e. make the casual computer user feel more comfortable and at home with the interface. However, researchers in human factors have found downsides to three-dimensional virtual reality displays. Because of the many choices that the user has in wandering down various xe2x80x9cstreets and roadsxe2x80x9d or visiting a wide variety of xe2x80x9cbuildings or storesxe2x80x9d or going through many possible xe2x80x9cdoorsxe2x80x9d, the user may wander through this reality and perhaps get lost from the track or goal he is pursuing.
The present invention addresses this problem, i.e. that of helping the interactive user in three-dimensional graphic environments to stay focused and relate to the objects he is seeking to relate to in the manner he is seeking to relate to such objects even when these objects are arranged in 3D space in what appears to be infinite configurations.
In these virtual reality 3D environments as in the real world, the viewer or user is relating to the virtual objects in order to carry out a wide variety of tasks, some of which are quite simple and some very complex. In order for the user to stay focused and carry out his tasks as expeditiously as possible, it would be optimum for the virtual 3D system to provide simpler user interfaces for simple tasks and more comprehensive user interfaces for more complex tasks.
Thus, when the viewer""s task is a simple one such as getting more information about a current movie film or about a newly released music CD, the user may be presented with his information in an interface as simple as a face view of a virtual 3D object which contains the information. For example, in the virtual 3D world or workspace, the viewer may navigate to a virtual three-dimensional object of a theater and get his desired movie film information from a face view of the object which presents a marquee of the theater. Similarly, the viewer seeking CD information might navigate to and be presented with a face view of a virtual CD vending kiosk which presents him with his desired information. The above-mentioned patent application, xe2x80x9cVIEWER INTERACTIVE OBJECT IN VIRTUAL THREE-DIMENSIONAL WORKSPACExe2x80x9d, D. B. Bardon et al., describes such face views of 3D virtual objects. With such simple tasks, the viewer notes his desired information, perhaps makes some simple choices and moves on with his navigation through the virtual 3D workspace.
On the other hand, the navigating viewer""s task may be a more complex one like tracking and updating product sales information of a business or group of businesses or within a report or filing a tax statement.
The present invention permits the viewer or user to utilize conventional two-dimensional interfaces within his three-dimensional virtual reality workspace simultaneously with his continued navigation through his three-dimensional, workspace.
In this connection, the present invention serves as a bridge between the three-dimensional virtual reality workspace environment which is a windowless world and the existing conventional viewer interactive interfaces which have the viewer interactively interface with application programs such as spreadsheet or CAD/CAM programs through a planar two-dimensional format using traditional windowing arrangements. In other words, the systems of the present invention may be designed to permit the viewer to callup and use window programs in a planar two-dimensional environment.
Before setting forth the present invention, we should establish some basic characteristics of the virtual three-dimensional environment as described in the above-referenced patents and applications. It is understood that in order to navigate through three-dimensional space, view the space or relate to objects within the space, a viewpoint is determined within that space. That viewpoint is the virtual position of the viewer or person who is navigating within the three-dimensional space. The viewpoint is commonly defined by its position and its orientation or direction. For purposes of describing this invention, we will use the metaphor of a camera to understand the viewpoint; The camera""s position and orientation are where it is and which way it is pointing. Let us refer to another property of a viewpoint which is xe2x80x9cfield of viewxe2x80x9d; this is effectively the resulting view from a given viewpoint. A key need of a viewer navigating through virtual three-dimensional space is to stay focused.
As set forth above, it is easier for the viewer to stay focused when the task for which he is accessing the object is a simple one. The present invention deals with helping viewers to stay focused in more complex tasks.
The present invention operates within the previously described data processor controlled display system for displaying a virtual three-dimensional workspace having three-dimensional objects which are interactively functional, i.e. may be picked by the viewer or user for various computer interactive functions.
The present invention has associated with and stored for each of a plurality of such functional virtual objects, at least one planar two-dimensional image of the virtual object, i.e. the two-dimensional image has sufficient visual similarity to the object which it represents that the viewer or user will intuitively connect the two as he addresses the three-dimensional workspace. The system provides user interactive means so that the user can select one of the virtual objects and means responsive to such a user selection for displaying the two-dimensional planar image associated with the selected object.
The system further provides user interactive means to this planar two-dimensional image so that the user may carry out conventional computer functions such as spreadsheets or word processing within this two-dimensional image. In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, this planar two-dimensional image may be user interactively interfaced to a variety of standard computer applications such as word processing, spreadsheets or CAD/CAM.
A key aspect of the present invention is that this interactive two-dimensional image remains permanently associated with the three-dimensional object which represents it, and does not change even when its representative three-dimensional object undergoes changes such as changes in position or size.
In the manner described above, once an interactive planar two-dimensional image is opened, the user may retain it as an active access to the computer function being carried out interactively within the image, e.g. an application program even when the user is also navigating through the virtual three-dimensional workspace and is proceeding to or relating to a subsequent three-dimensional object other than the three-dimensional object associated with the selected two-dimensional image.
In order to understand the present invention, it is important its advantages over conventional two-dimensional systems be considered. In such two-dimensional systems, the potential functions and applications of the display systems are represented by an array of icons which the user may respectively select in order to bring forth that particular computer functional application interface on the display. Other than representing a particular computer function or program, these conventional two-dimensional icons of the prior art do not act in combination with other elements as do the three-dimensional object of the present invention to provide interrelated three-dimensional environment through which the viewer may navigate. Such a three-dimensional virtual workspace environment permits even the most complex of computer setups to be intuitively organized with respect to the viewer so that the viewer may navigate and make appropriate selections and combinations of selections.
As mentioned hereinabove, the present invention functions as a bridge between the traditional windowing two-dimensional interactive user environments to the present three-dimensional world which is windowless, i.e. the user may still carry out his window interface two-dimensional planar interactive programs in this newer three-dimensional world.
In accordance with a more particular aspect of the present invention, because of the object oriented programming environment which is used to implement the present invention, the virtual three-dimensional object and its associated planar two-dimensional functional image are stored in the computer and treated as an entity whereby the three-dimensional object may be changed in size, position and appearance without affecting its relationship with the interactive two-dimensional image which it represents. On the other hand, the function of the two-dimensional image cannot be deleted or removed from the system unless its associated representative three-dimensional image is removed, i.e. the only way to remove the function represented by the two-dimensional image is to remove the three-dimensional object which serves as its proxy.